


the ones left behind

by logictron



Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Pre-Canon, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Team as Family, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 07:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13852833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/logictron/pseuds/logictron
Summary: For the Tumblr prompt: "You have to eat something" featuring Jaz. After Elijah's death, Jaz is drowning. Adam can't sit by and do nothing.





	the ones left behind

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is Jalton but more friendship than a pairing. Obviously angsty because Elijah's just died. But hopeful, I think? I hope. :) Slowly working my way through all the lovely prompts you all have given me. I promise, if you've asked for something, it's on the list! It will get written! Reviews help with motivation!

"You need...you need to eat something." Adam has a hard time making it sound like an order. He'd been resolute in coming in here, into Elijah's space, where Jaz has been holed up since they'd returned. They all keep checking on her but she keeps pushing them away, and Adam gets it, he absolutely gets it. Which is why he's intent on being here for her, even if she thinks she wants to be alone. But seeing her like this is heartbreaking. It's almost worse than losing Elijah in the first place. It's only been two days. A sandstorm has grounded them in Turkey, making it impossible for them to fly home, and they're all going a little stir crazy. But Jaz most of all.

 

"I'm not hungry," she mutters. It's like she doesn't even see him.

 

"I know. I know food is the last thing you want to think about right now. Believe me." Adam closes the door behind him and sinks onto the edge of Elijah's bed. Jaz is curled up at the head, her knees drawn to her chest. She looks like a child and Adam wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and promise her it'll stop hurting. But the hollow place in his chest, the one whose edges still ache, years and years later, tells another story. "But you have to, Jaz. Just something."

 

He hasn't come empty handed. He begged and bartered and somehow procured a box of strawberry poptarts. He sets them on the bed between them, a peace offering.

 

"How can I?" Jaz whispers, which is not what he's expecting at all. She's notorious for her tough exterior, and while she's more willing to open up now than she had been two years ago when she'd gotten here, right now, she's at her most vulnerable, so Adam expects a wall. Instead, she gives.

 

"It's going to sound pretty stupid...but you breathe. When you can't think of living one more minute with the pain, you get through one second instead, and know that...all-encompassing pain, that part goes away. It comes back, but it goes away long enough for you to get your feet back under you." Adam rubs his chin, wondering what it is about her that always has him opening up, spilling secrets he hasn't talked about to anyone. "And you do it because...you know Vallins'd be pissed at you if you didn't."

 

"Fuck him," Jaz snarls with far more venom than Adam thought was possible given her lack of sleep, or food, or pretty much anything since they'd come back. "He's the one who decided to be a damn hero. Always had to go first, always had to make everything a fucking joke. None of this is a joke. Maybe if he'd been serious for one damn second...He doesn't get to be mad. He's the one who left me here."

 

Her voice cracks on a sob and then Adam is wrapping her in his arms, because he can do a lot of things but watching her break down without doing a damn thing about it isn't one of them. So he holds her.

 

Jaz tenses in his embrace, and he considers letting go, that he's made a mistake. They don't do this kind of thing. The team is definitely affectionate, but not in the hugging kind of way. And he's no stranger to Jaz's history, he's read her file, essentially has it memorized. But before he can back off, she relaxes into him, shaking.

 

"I know," he says. "And you can be as mad as you want...at him, at the son of a bitch that shot him...at me. But don't...don't be mad at yourself okay?"

 

"It should've been me," she whispers, barely audible. "He has a family that loves him...a boyfriend...a life outside of this godforsaken hut in the middle of the goddamn desert. It should've been me."

 

"And you know, if it had been you, Elijah would be sitting here right now saying the same damn thing. We don't get to make that decision. All we can do is keep moving forward. And I'm not going to sit here and lie and pretend that that doesn't suck. But it's what we've got, Jaz." Adam sighs, tipping his head back against the wall.

 

"I don't know what I'm doing here without him," Jaz whispers hoarsely.

 

There are a lot of things Adam is ready for. Grief is familiar, in all its stages. Jaz is familiar in ways he can't begin to wrap his head around. But this catches him off guard, again.

 

"You are a part of this team. Just like all of us. You have to know that by now," Adam murmurs.

 

Jaz huffs in frustration, sitting up, pulling away from him. "I know. Or...I thought I did. But I can't help--You know what? It's stupid. Never mind. I'll be fine."

 

The poptarts seem to catch her attention and Adam watches her tear open the box and removed a foil package. At least he accomplished his original goal.

 

"I never for one second doubted you'd be okay. You're stronger than anyone else here, between you and me. And I'm pretty damn positive we'd all pick you in a firefight any day of the week. I know you don't have much of a family back home, but I hope you know you have us. All of us," Adam says, getting to his feet. "And we're hurting too, Jaz. Sometimes it's easier not to hurt alone."

 

She doesn't look at him, just stares down at the bed, methodically eating the poptart. After a second, he turns to go, figuring he's pestered her enough. She'll come around or she won't. Him pushing her any harder isn't going to do anything but shut her down. Adam's all too familiar with that.

 

"Hey thanks." Her voice stops him at the door. "For everything. I'm trying."

 

"I know you are. We'll be here."

 

"Let me know when dinner's ready?"

 

"Yeah." Adam works to keep his tone neutral, fights back his smile. "I'll do that."

 

He closes the door and breathes a quiet sigh of relief. The war they fight is never-ending, but today, they're winning the battle. One breath at a time, they'll get through it. As a team. As a family. They'll get their feet back under them and keep going. For Elijah.


End file.
